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DevOps & Automation · Foundational

Runner

A machine or container that executes CI/CD jobs, called a runner in GitHub Actions and GitLab and an agent in Azure Pipelines and Jenkins.

Definition

Platform-hosted runners are managed, ephemeral VMs; self-hosted runners run on your own infrastructure for custom tools, private network access, or special hardware. Self-hosted runners require patching and isolation.

Example

A self-hosted runner inside a VPC deploys to private databases unreachable from GitHub-hosted runners.

Exam tip

Choose self-hosted when jobs need private network access or custom hardware; avoid self-hosted runners on public repositories for security.

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